The 2018 Tenuta Degli Dei is dense, juicy and wonderfully inviting. Silky tannins wrap around a core of inky dark fruit, chocolate, spice, lavender and new leather. In the glass, the 2018 is intensely aromatic and...

Muscular, slate hewn tannins, this has a rugged quality where nothing is overpowered by oak and yet it hugs the palate, making its presence felt. Serious tannic architecture that softens through the mid palate to show...

A fantastic nose to this with currant, sage, rosemary and rose-petal character. Sweet tobacco and spicy chocolate, too. Very complex. The palate shows lovely depth of fruit with blackberries, blackcurrants and fine...

The 2018 I Sodi di San Niccolò is the most elegant Sodi I have ever tasted, and I have tasted them all. Sodi can be quite the bruiser in its youth, as the tannins are often imposing, but the 2018 is impressive because...

A blend of 58% Merlot, 31% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 Champoux Vineyard has already captured my heart with its delightful and lovely aromatics. It offers dusty plum, black cherry skin, blackberry...

The 2018 Red Wine Estate might just be the best edition ever of this incredible high-elevation bottling. It's nothing short of a blending masterpiece by Chris Figgins and his winemaking team. This thing is massive monster...

A rich and darkly alluring mix of plum sauce, grilled sage and hints of sweet smoke makes the 2018 Red Wine Ciel du Cheval a total pleasure on the nose. This is seamlessly silky, with potent red fruits complimented by a...

A very concentrated nose with impressively rich blackberry, raspberry and dark-plum aromas. Dark chocolate, violet and cedary oak here, too. Very youthful. The palate has a very rich, intense and plush feel with fresh...

(92-94 points) The base Gigondas, the 2018 Gigondas Vieilles Vignes is a blend from both the La Louisiane and Pigière lieux-dits near the estate (due to the dismal yields, there’s no Souteyrade cuvée in 2018) and is 80%...

A solid and structured red with blackcurrant, herb, tobacco and mussel-shell character. Some moss, too. Full-bodied and chewy, yet the solid tannins are very fine-textured and give a long, chewy finish. Yet, it’s always...

The 2018 Tenuta Degli Dei is dense, juicy and wonderfully inviting. Silky tannins wrap around a core of inky dark fruit, chocolate, spice, lavender and new leather. In the glass, the 2018 is intensely aromatic and...

A dark, winey style, with lots of fig, plum and blackberry paste flavors layered together, with sweet tobacco, licorice snap and warm earth accents filling in. Packed but defined, with a graphite spine through the finish...

A blend of mostly Sangiovese with Cabernet Franc and Merlot in supporting roles, the Castello di Ama 2018 Haiku is a very interesting and somewhat unexpected expression that delivers big richness and lovely concentration...

The 2018 Pym-Rae can be thought of as a hypothetical mix of the 2016 and 2017, with more sexiness and opulence than the 2017 and a touch more elegance and precision than the 2016. Wonderful cassis, violets, tobacco, lead...

A dense red hat is generous and structured at the same time. Really delicious flavors of chocolate, light coffee, currants and berries. Iodine too. Heavy silk. Love the texture. Needs time to come together. Half merlot...

Muscular, slate hewn tannins, this has a rugged quality where nothing is overpowered by oak and yet it hugs the palate, making its presence felt. Serious tannic architecture that softens through the mid palate to show...

The 2018 Red Blend H Block is a blend of 56% Cabernet Franc and 44% Merlot, co-fermented. Like all of the wines from Hudson, the H Block possesses striking aromatic complexity to match its mid-weight personality. Dried...

This is a very pretty, with currant, cherry and some mahogany and cigar-box character. It’s medium-to full-bodied with tight, linear tannins that are long and very intense. Polished nicely. Hard not to drink now, but...

The Montepeloso 2018 Eneo (a blend of 55% Sangiovese, 25% Montepulciano, 15% Alicante and 5% Malvasia Nera) is another unexpected blend from this very promising estate on the Tuscan Coast. With 34,000 bottles made, this...

Up with the crème de la crème of the vintage, the 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape Vieilles Vignes is a bigger, richer wine than the Les Origines cuvée and has a beautiful core of smoked black fruits, candied violets, peppery...

The 2018 Proprietary Red Paradise Hills Vineyard has really shut down since I tasted it last year. Energetic and vibrant, the 2018 sizzles with all of the energy of this cool, late-ripening vintage. Time in the glass...

The 2018 Le Petit Clos is a blend of 53% Carménère, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot from Apalta, Colchagua. Dark garnet in hue. The complex nose offers plum jam, hints of smoke, herbs and pepper...

Complex aromas of sweet berries, tobacco and mushrooms with some floral undertones. Full-bodied with very tight, polished tannins and cedar, mahogany and dark fruit on the finish. Lots of transparent fruit at the end...

A full-bodied red with aromas of blackberry, mulberry, vanilla, brown rice, chocolate and coconut. Firm, fine-grained tannins frame a generous, ripe core of sweet red and black fruit. Rounded, polished and richly...

The wine of the vintage. Compelling in every sense of the word, the wine is incredibly dark in color. The aromatics kick off with an amazing display of spices, herbs, wet earth, leaf, pepper, grilled meat, black...

This is an excellent bottling of Awatea, the younger brother of Te Mata's top red, Coleraine. From a long, warm growing season, this feels like a complete wine. Winter warming notes of plump plums, dark cherries and...

The 2018 Balifico, Volpaia's Sangiovese/ Cabernet Sauvignon blend, is fabulous. Rich and inky, the 2018 offers up a compelling mélange of dark berry fruit, dark spice, licorice and espresso. I especially admire the wine's...

(93-95 points) Always a good value, the 2018 Todos checks in as a kitchen sink blend of 45% Syrah, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petit Verdot, 9% Petite Sirah, and the rest Merlot and other miscellaneous varieties. Its...

(2022 Decanter World Wine Awards) Dried fruits sit alongside ripe plums, chocolate, coffee, and cigar box notes. Great volume on the palate with underlying acidity.

(94-96+ points) Based on 62% Cabernet Franc, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Merlot, brought up in 20% new French oak, the deep purple 2018 El Alma de Jonata boasts a rocking Cabernet Franc nose of smoked black...